NEW YORK (WAVY) — A teenager has been arrested in connection to the stabbing death of 18-year-old Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors, who was from Charlottesville.
Senior law enforcement officials told NBC New York the 13-year-old boy in custody is suspected to have played a role in Majors’ death, but the New York City Police Department was still looking for additional suspects in the case.
Majors, an 18-year-old first year college student, was walking through Manhattan’s Morningside Park around 7 p.m. Wednesday night when she was approached by unknown number of people and repeatedly stabbed.
“During the struggle, one of the individuals pulled out a knife and stabbed her several times,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison said Thursday. “She staggered her way up the street. One of the security guards saw her and called 911.”
She later died at the hospital.
One of her neighbors in Charlottesville told WAVY sister station WRIC on Thursday that she was a sweet and sincere person who was a role model for her 5-year-old. It’s why the news of her death has left many heartbroken and shocked — and questioning how she could be taken in such a senseless way.
“This is going to change their whole Christmas, their whole family dynamic,” Heather Dillon said. “It’s just tragic, it’s very quick and totally unexpected. She was such a good spirit so it’s really heartbreaking.
Police are asking the public for any information that may help in the case. A $2,500 reward is being offered.